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Chatham County Schools releases 2012-2013 EOC/EOG scores

Pittsboro, NC - The State Board of Education has released testing data for the 2012-2013 school year. As expected, the scores dropped significantly across the state. The test scores reveal data about the number of students who achieved proficiency on the End-of-Grade (EOG) and End-of-Course (EOC) tests based on the newly implemented Common Core Standards.

Overall, Chatham County Schools scored slightly higher (45.1%) than the state average (44.7%). Of the seventeen schools in the district, eight exceeded expected growth, four met expected growth, and five did not meet expected growth. Progress toward achieving growth is based on the federally required Annual Measureable Objectives (AMO) for ELA/Reading, Mathematics, Science, Cohort Graduation, Attendance, ACT & WorkKeys and is disaggregated by subgroups. Some highlights for Chatham County Schools include a 9.7-point advantage over the state average for Biology. Northwood High School (58.3%), exceeding expected growth, bested the state Biology average by 23.7 percentage points. Other schools exceeding expected growth include: Bonlee Elementary (48.1%); Jordan-Matthews High School (34.9%); Margaret B. Pollard Middle (57.6%); Moncure Elementary (48.3%); North Chatham Elementary (48.8%); Pittsboro Elementary (48.3%); and Silk Hope Elementary (57.5%). Perry Harrison Elementary met expectations and scored a performance composite of 60.5%, a rise of 15.8% over the state average (44.7%). Other schools meeting expected growth include: Chatham Middle (28.6%); Horton Middle (41.5%); JS Waters Elementary (45.8%). The five schools not meeting expected growth include; Bennett Elementary (42.3%); SAGE Academy (6.3%); Chatham Central High School (44.4%); Siler City Elementary (29.5%); and Virginia Cross Elementary (22.7%). Dr. Derrick D. Jordan, Interim Superintendent, responded to the score release data, “While we can identify significant areas for improvement, the fact remains that our students are being stretched to new limits and our teachers are implementing innovative approaches to instruction. Our expectation is that over time we will, as we have done in the past, reach and exceed the State’s established goals.”

Dr. Barbara Zwadyk, Interim Superintendent of Instruction and Academic Services, says “New standards and new assessments bring much change, prompting different ways of learning and teaching. Chatham County Schools has much to be proud of! Students, parents, and staff are to be commended for student achievement results that are above the state performance composites in many of the areas tested. Still, there is much to be done to ensure our students receive a world-class education that makes them globally competitive. Working together, we look forward to continued growth.” The state of North Carolina has experienced significant reductions in student performance scores previously in 2006, when math scores dropped 24.2% after the introduction of new rigorous standards and again in 2008, when reading scores fell 30.4% in the first year of new reading standards. The implementation of the Common Core introduced new, higher, and deeper standards for student achievement. The goal of the Common Core is to prepare students for life after high school graduation. Previous standards prepared students for success in the next grade level. It is important to note that students continued to grow academically in 2012-2013 even though the tougher achievement standards show fewer students meeting proficiency. These new scores simply mean that we are expecting students to reach higher levels of learning than ever before.